There is chicken being imported into Canada that is being mislabeled — intentionally — and the issue has been taken to the federal government.
“Chicken meat is being fraudulently declared as spent fowl in order to bypass import controls, taking jobs and revenue away from the Canadian economy, and putting Canadian consumers at risk due to broken traceability within the food system,” states a report published by the CFC in 2024.
In October, Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) representatives presented to the House Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food regarding the importation of broiler chicken meat mislabeled as “spent fowl”.
Food under this category is subject to what some might say are less stringent standards. However, spent fowl, which is meat coming from mature and retired laying hens or breeders, should be used only for certain products like processed foods and canned soups. Mislabeled, this food enters Canadian markets and creates an imbalance in our economics. Read more from the CFC support statement.
The CFC presentation emphasized the need for solutions to combat these fraudulent imports.
The Committee’s report has been released as of January 2026 and is now available.